A Guide for Deeper Learning:
Anti-Racism, Racial Equity,
Diversity & Inclusion
Cultivating More Equitable and
Inclusive Communities
Welcome Packet
2 Table of Contents
❏ Meet Your TJC Team
❏ Shared Understanding
❏ Community Agreements
❏ Key Terms Glossary
❏ Resources
3 Welcome!
This welcome packet is intended to support your anti-racism and anti-oppression learning during the September 2022 Study Session. As you go through the live training with The Justice Collective to learn about historical contexts and key Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (r(EDI)) concepts, you may experience a spectrum of feelings; that’s okay and perfectly normal.
This welcome packet will help you familiarize yourself with our approach to the work of anti-racism, as well as some core r(EDI) terms, language, and frameworks that we will discuss during our time together.
It is our hope that engaging with this resource will support and empower you to extend your learning and improve the ways in which you lead for the City of San Jose. Thank you very much for taking the time to learn with us. We hope you get as much out of the following resources as we have.
~ Ellie Tumbuan and Lena Carew
Your TJC team
4 Ellie Tumbuan (she/her)
Head of Strategy and Culture
Ellie’s original research has been published in the peer-reviewed journal, Government Information Quarterly, and she designed and has led TJC’s forensic culture audit and assessment practice since 2016.
Ellie spent over a decade in social impact on international programs and organizational effectiveness, prior to advising on program, product, and business strategy as Director of Impact at Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies. She has served as a mentor to Founder Institute, regularly advises on business strategy, and speaks regularly on identity, leadership, and civic engagement. Ellie has been interviewed by and featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Silicon Valley Business Journal, and Tech Inclusion’s D&I Leader Spotlight for her EDI expertise. Ellie has a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in Urban and Strategic Management from San Francisco State University, and a specialty in Generative Somatics and Emotional Intelligence.
Meet your Team
Ellie is the eldest multiracial, queer daughter of
an immigrant from the largest Muslim country
in the world. An organizational strategy and
equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) specialist
with a 20-year career in management
consulting, leadership and program
development, communications, and open data
and civic technology, she believes that
individuals and communities are the experts of
their own experience and that asset-based
approaches deliver the most impact.
5 Lena Carew (she/her)
Head of Organizational Health and
Innovation
Lena is also a sought-after specialist in community-centered design and implementation of digital learning systems, and other learning platforms. She has consulted for national nonprofits, civil rights legal organizations, college districts, and regional public health initiatives.
Her work experience and leadership demonstrates a deep commitment to racial equity and social change, where she has successfully leveraged her knowledge of digital media, education and learning, community organizing, policy and advocacy to develop equity-driven organizational and programmatic strategy.
Lena is an avid hiker and cook, and holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and a Masters in Education with a concentration in Digital Media Education from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Lena Carew is the co-founder and Head of
Organizational Health and Innovation at
The Justice Collective. Lena is an educator,
policy advocate, and social entrepreneur.
Her expertise is sought after by
organizational leaders, education
policymakers, entrepreneurs, and
advocates. Teaching others to find and use
their voice for change has become a
hallmark of her reputation.
Meet your Team
In order to work through these pages, it’s important
that we share the foundational knowledge that has
informed what we chose to include in this
workbook. This way we can create a shared
understanding of the terms, concepts, and
frameworks that we are engaging with in these
pages.
We all have a different understanding of the world
around us. Our perspectives are informed by our
social identities, which include race, class, gender,
sexual orientation, cultural expression, education --
the list goes on. We call this intersectionality*, or
intersectional self. This intersectional self acts as a lens that informs how we walk through this world
as well as our understanding of it. Some of us can
see the gaps in equity because through our lens we
experience it firsthand, and others may need to be
shown because their lens is different. This is called
privilege. These concepts of intersectionality and
privilege need to be brought into the conversation
of anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion. We
have to be aware of our intersectional selves and
privileges in order to understand how we can lead
this work in the spaces we inhabit.
For many of us, it is easy to get overwhelmed when
learning about racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, and feel uncertain of how these concepts should
inform our everyday work as leaders. This difficulty
is why we aim to demystify what “the work” is and
get clear on how we can enhance our leadership on
an individual level because it is in our day-to-day
interactions where the biggest catalysts for change
happen.
6 Shared Understanding
Let’s make sure we’re on the same page…
When we say “the work,” we literally mean the
work it takes to practice self-awareness to the point
of understanding our roles within structural
oppression. Structural racism is deeply imbedded in
the history, policy, and practices of our institutions
and these institutions exist in a society that is highly racialized. No single organization or person is
immune to the impacts of that socialization. The
influences of race are all around us and if we are
unable to name the problem because of discomfort,
we will never be able to solve it. The practice of
equity requires us to build a resilience to discomfort
so that we can proactively name, address and
mitigate for further inequities in our work and
workplace
The difference between Equity and Equality:
Equality means everyone gets the same and Equity
means everyone gets what they need. Equity ensures
that past and present contexts and impacts inform
the creation of strategies, resources, priorities, etc..
Equity recognizes that the impact of an action is
more important than the intention behind it and that
intention and impact are not always aligned.
What Diversity and Inclusion really means: Diversity
is being at the table, inclusion is joining the
conversation and Equity is empowering everyone to
work together to set the agenda, make decisions,
and ask the most critical questions: Who’s at the
table? Who’s not at the table, but should be? What
do they need to contribute?
* Definitions in Key Terms Glossary on following pages
It is important we address oppression at all levels.
The outer ring represents the structural level, or the
systems in place that affect how we live our lives and
the quality of life we get to live. The light blue ring represents inequities at the institutional or
organizational level. Examples of this are the
policies, laws, and practices in place that reinforce
the inequities established at the structural level.
Green represents inequity or oppression at the
cultural level, which includes media, traditions, and
customs. The light orange is the interpersonal level,
which is how we treat, act, and behave with each
other. The dark orange center represents how we,
on a personal level, are influenced by and reinforce
the inequities around us.
All of these levels impact each other, like a cycle. It’s up to us to decide whether we see these levels
reflecting back the values we choose to live by, or
not. Most of us agree that we need to do better for
each other. In order to do that, we have to
understand our role as either a reinforcer of those
things we don’t agree with or a person who works
towards change. We hope that you see these pages
as a starting point for understanding your role in the
movement towards anti-racism and anti-oppression.
Centering race does not mean we are excluding
other historically-marginalized identities. It is true
that other groups of people are still marginalized
such as women and trans people, members of the
LGBTQ+ community, the disabled and
neurodivergent communities, as well as many other
identities. Throughout each of the communities
listed above, the intersection of race and other
identity factors will determine the level of access
we have in the world.
7 Shared Understanding
Let’s make sure we’re on the same page…
Let’s apply this
Homelessness amongst veterans is high in
many cities across California. Yet, amongst
homeless veterans, we see higher proportions
of Black veterans than other groups. In this
example, we see that race (Black) furthers
inequity for an already marginalized group
(Veterans). It provides the opportunity to
introduce a framework, tools, and resources
that can also be applied to other areas of
marginalization. Also, race can be an issue that
keeps other marginalized communities from
effectively coming together - one of the
greatest historic and contemporary examples
of this is voting trends among low-income and
rural White Americans who share economic
interests with other low-income and rural
communities of color but often vote counter
to those shared interests. Studies have shown
that race and racism are significant drivers for
voters. An approach that recognizes the
inter-connected ways in which marginalization
takes place will help to achieve greater unity
across communities.
Structural
Institutional
Cultural
Internalized
Interpersonal
Community Agreements
TRY IT ON
01 Be willing to “try on” new ideas, or
ways of doing things that might not be
what you prefer or are familiar with.
PRACTICE SELF FOCUS
02 Attend to and speak about your own
experiences and responses. Do not speak for
a whole group or express assumptions about
the experience of others.
REFRAIN FROM BLAMING
OR SHAMING SELF &
OTHERS
05 Practice giving skillful feedback.
UNDERSTAND THE
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN INTENT
AND IMPACT
03 Try to understand and acknowledge impact.
Denying the impact of something said by
focusing on intent is often more destructive
than the initial interaction.
PRACTICE “BOTH / AND”
04 When speaking, substitute “and” in
the place of “but.” This practice
acknowledges and honors multiple
realities.
MOVE UP / MOVE BACK
06 Encourage full participation by all present.
Take note of who is speaking and who is not.
If you tend to speak often, consider “moving
up” into more listening, and vice versa.
PRACTICE MINDFUL
LISTENING
07 Try to avoid planning what you’ll say as
you listen to others. Be willing to be
surprised, to learn something new. Listen
with your whole self.
CONFIDENTIALITY
08 What’s said here, stays here; what’s
learned here leaves here. If you want to
follow up with anyone regarding
something they said in this session, ask
first and respect their wishes.
RIGHT TO PASS
09 You can say “I pass” if you don’t wish
to speak.
….Lovingly borrowed from East Bay Meditation Center 8
9 r(EDI) Key Terms Glossary
Ableism: The discrimination of and social prejudice
against people with disabilities based on the belief
that typical abilities are superior. At its heart,
ableism is rooted in the assumption that disabled
people require 'fixing' and defines people by their
disability.
Ageism: Behavior that favors people of younger
generations over elders or seniors, and which
devalues the contributions of elders, based on their
perceived productivity in a capitalist society.
Capitalism²: An economic and political system in
which a country's trade and industry are controlled
by private owners for profit, rather than by the
state.
Classism: A set of interpersonal practices and
prejudices that arise out of the capitalist power
structure. Classism is the idea that people of a
“higher” class level are superior to people from the
“lower” classes.
Cisgender: a term given to a person whose assigned
sex at birth aligns with their gender identity.
Cultural oppression: The imposition of conflicting
values resulting in labeling one as inferior. Being
forced into an inferior position hinders the collective affirmation of a culture.
Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment
of different categories of people or
things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or
gender.
Ethnicity: An ethnic group is a human population
whose members identify with each other, usually on
the basis of a presumed common genealogy or
ancestry. Ethnic groups are also usually united by
common cultural, behavioural, linguistic, or religious
practices.
Equity vs. Equality: In the context of societal
systems, equality and equity refer to similar but
slightly different concepts. Equality generally refers
to equal opportunity and the same levels of support
for all segments of society. Equity goes a step
further and refers to varying levels of support
depending upon the need(s) to achieve greater
fairness of outcomes.
Gender¹: A complex combination of roles,
expressions, identities, performances, and more
that are assigned gendered meaning by a society.
Gender is both self-defined and society-defined.
How gender is embodied and defined varies from
culture to culture and from person to person.
Gender is a spectrum rather a binary.
Heterosexism: The system that gives heterosexuals
power and privilege at the expense of gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender people.
Internalized Oppression: Oppression that limits our
belief and actions in our own potential and the
potential of communities we belong to and come
from. This often manifests itself in our emotional
physical endangerment. This happens when we
believe the misconceptions and lies about our own
group.
Interpersonal Oppression: Oppression experienced
at the person-to-person level. This can happen
between people within the same oppressed group,
between people from different oppressed groups,
or between people from an oppressed group and
people from a non-oppressed group.
Intersectionality³ : Coined by legal scholar Kimberlé
Williams Crenshaw. It is the interconnected nature
of social categorizations such as race, class, and
gender as they apply to a given individual or group,
regarded as creating overlapping and
interdependent systems of discrimination or
disadvantage.
¹ Gender Diversity Terminology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/campus-community-diversity/lgbtq-community/explore-lgbtq-resources/identity-based-resources/gender-terms ² OED Online, Oxford University Press, September 2020, www.oed.com ³ ibid
1 0
Race: A socially constructed way of grouping people
based on skin color and other apparent physical
differences, which has no genetic or scientific basis.
The consequences of racial categorization are real,
as the ideology of race has become embedded in
our identities, institutions, and culture, and is used
as a basis for discrimination and racial profiling. How one is racialized is a major determinant of one’s
socioeconomic status and life opportunities.
r(EDI): racially centered Equity, Diversity, and
Inclusion.
Sex (as it relates to gender): The biological sex
anatomy assigned at birth (male/female). Exists on a
spectrum and not always aligned with gender.
Systemic/Structural Oppression: The ways in which
history, culture, ideology, public policies,
institutional practices, and personal behaviors and
beliefs interact to maintain a hierarchy – based on
race, class, gender, sexuality, and/or other group
identities – that allows the privileges associated
with the dominant group and the disadvantages
associated with the oppressed, targeted, or
marginalized group to endure and adapt over time.
Unconscious/Implicit Bias⁶: refers to the attitudes
or stereotypes that affect our understanding,
actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.
These biases, which encompass both favorable and
unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily
and without an individual’s awareness or intentional
control.
White Supremacy Culture: A system of domination
based on race (an arbitrary social construct) in
which white people maintain power and privilege at
the expense of people of color – impacting both
communities of color within the United States and
other nations – for the purpose of gaining power
and wealth.
ISMs: Shorthand for various forms of oppression
that are rooted in the combination of power and
privilege which creates a system that discriminates
against specific groups (often called “target” groups)
and benefits other groups (often called “dominant”
or “power” groups). Examples of these systems are
racism, sexism, classism, ageism, and anti-Semitism.
These systems enable “dominant” groups to exert
control over “target” groups by limiting their rights,
freedoms, and access to basic resources such as
healthcare, education, employment, housing, etc.
Oppression: When an individual or groups of people
with more power in society silences or keeps down
another individual or group with less power.
Patriarchy: A system of power that privileges men
and often excludes women.
Prejudice: A judgment or opinion that is formed on
insufficient grounds before facts are known or in
disregard of facts that contradict it. Prejudices can
be learned and unlearned.
Privilege⁴: Right or advantage, often unwritten,
conferred on some but not others, usually without
examination or good reason.
Microaggressions: A statement, action, or incident
regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or
unintentional harm against members of a
marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic
minority.
Misogyny: The hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice
against women or girls.
Misogynoir⁵: Coined by the queer Black feminist
Moya Bailey in 2010, is the anti-Black racist
misogyny that Black women experience.
⁴ Delgado, R. and Stefancic, J. (2012). Critical Race Theory. New York: New York University Press. ⁵ Center, B. (2020, February 12). What Is Misogynoir? Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.blackburncenter.org/post/2020/02/12/what-is-misogynoir ⁶ Kirwan Institute. (n.d.). Understanding Implicit Bias. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/research/understanding-implicit-bias/ r(EDI) Key Terms Glossary
Resources
History and Contexts
History of Racism and Immigration Timeline Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice The Origin of Race in the USA PBS
A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America Ronald Takaki The House We Live In PBS
Inequity and Housing
The Legacy of Redlining in the San Francisco Bay Area Urban Displacement Project Racial Inequalities in Homelessness, by the Numbers National Alliance to End Homelessness 50 years after the Kerner Commission Economic Policy Institute Housing and Homelessness in the Transgender Community National Center for Transgender Equality 11 Mindfulness & Somatics
Embodied Social Justice, Somatic Research Methods, and the Kinaesthetic Imagination
Rae Johnson, PhD, RSW, RSMT
Generative Somatics Somatic Transformation & Social Justice Mindfulness and Racial Bias: Resources
For Deeper Understanding
Mind and Life Institute
When Mindfulness and Racism Intersect
Barry Boyce
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
Resmaa Menakem
12 Congratulations, you’ve reached
the end of the Welcome Packet!
Thank you for taking the time to engage with this information. We look forward to meeting you soon and having conversations as a group.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email Ellie Tumbuan, at [email protected],
Lena Carew, at [email protected].